‘Harry Potter' fans flock to theaters at witching hour

Robby Martinez, 19, (left) and Clif Sanchez, 20, as "Harry Potter," relax while waiting for the midnight showing of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" on July 14, 2011, at the Santikos Palladium. The friends said they arrived at noon for the movie.

Photo By Edward A. Ornelas / Express-News

Harry Potter fans wait for the midnight showing of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" on July 14, 2011, at the Santikos Palladium.

Photo By Edward A. Ornelas / Express-News

Roberto Puente, 21, (from left) Holly Grothues, 19, and Lauren Venticinque, 17, dressed as "Hogwarts students" wait for the midnight showing of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" on July 14, 2011, at the Santikos Palladium.

Photo By Edward A. Ornelas / Express-News

Christian Villescas, 17, dressed as the "Golden Snitch" arrives for the midnight showing of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" on July 14, 2011, at the Santikos Palladium.

Photo By Edward A. Ornelas / Express-News

Gabriella Katz, 19, dressed as "Fred Weasley" talks on her phone while waiting for the midnight showing of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" on July 14, 2011, at the Santikos Palladium.

Photo By Edward A. Ornelas / Express-News

Beverly Villa (from right) photographs her son Zachary Villa, 12, as he poses with Irene Hall dressed as "Harry Potter" while waiting for the midnight showing of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" on July 14, 2011, at the Santikos Palladium.

Only a wizard like Harry Potter could cast such a spell on moviegoers come the witching hour.

They filled area theaters Thursday for midnight screenings of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” the eighth and final film in the magical movie series based on J.K. Rowling's best-selling novels.

The second of two full-length parts, “Part 2” delivers the ultimate epic confrontation between the noble bespectacled Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and the evil serpentine Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes), bringing to a dramatic, 3-D close to the highest-grossing movie franchise of all time.

Not counting “Part 2,” the “Harry Potter” films have grossed $6.37 billion worldwide, according to the Numbers website.

Fans across town and across the nation swooped up midnight tickets in droves. Reuters reported Thursday that advance U.S. ticket sales for “Part 2” raked in $32 million. More than 6,000 midnight shows sold out in advance, according to Fandango.

San Antonio offered more than 60 midnight screenings. To put the frenzy in context, the Santikos Palladium IMAX had all 19 of its screens sold out for the first showing.

The Palladium alone could have doubled for Hogwarts, what with hundreds of Potter fans snaked throughout the theater lobby, in hallways and outside, a good number sporting the robes, wands and prep-school ties of the fabled school of witchcraft and wizardry.

No question this final film has multiple generations in its thrall.

Grandmother Ka Riley;, her daughter Kristy Ortega Ortega's son Caleb Ortega, 9; and her daughter Gillian Lemke, 14, huddled in a Palladium line. Kristy had on a Hogwarts-like white shirt and tie, while Caleb sported spiky hair a vibrant blue and a faint fake lighting bolt scar on his forehead to honor the title hero.

So why wait hours in line for such a film?

“Because we live in the fantasy ... and this is the only way you can bring it to life,” Kristy Ortega said.

Some San Antonio theaters hopped aboard the bandwagon (or Hogwarts Express, as it were), with special Potter events.

The three area Alamo Drafthouses — Park North, Stone Oak and Westlakes — really tested a Muggle's mettle with an 18-hour marathon of all seven “Harry Potter” films leading up to midnight screenings of “Part 2.” That big-screen bonanza began at 6 a.m. Thursday.

“It just means a lot to our family,” said Yvonne, sporting a very honest shirt that said “I'm with Hagrid.” Her long-haired husband stood by her side in full costume as Rubeus Hagrid, Harry's towering friend in the novels and films.

Potter-mania started years ago for the O'Riley family. But for Robert Constante, standing first in a line across the Drafthouse lobby, this final “Harry Potter” film was just the beginning.

“I've never seen a Harry Potter movie,” he said.

But his girlfriend, Honora Sanchez, has attended several midnight “Harry Potter” screenings.

“I saw all of them in the theater,” Sanchez said. “It's also part of the experience. You want to be around all the people just as hyped to see it as you are.”

At the Regal Alamo Quarry, Robby Dean, 16 and his three buddies showed up in black robes and handmade masks to resemble the Death Eaters, the dark wizards and witches led by the evil Voldemort.

“We're dedicated,” Robby said, sporting a skull and snake Dark Mark temporary tattoo on his forearm. “We love the books. We read them all the time.”

Which just goes to show that Harry Potter, also known as the Boy Who Lived, will live on long after he brings his theatrical magic to an end.